A Darker Side of Fate
by Kroh Komitzu
Summary: A tale of how the choices we make can effect others. Set in a alternate future. Ed, age 20, roams the lands, staying away from home. Al, the main focus thus far, lives a simple life at home, waiting for his brother and father. Much Action! R&R.
1. Prologue

**Prologue 01**

**In terms of Words**

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"I don't know how to say this..." A pencil scribbled across a pad of paper. "It's been so long, so much has happened in the last year or so. I mean, it's not like I see you much anymore. What are you doing, constantly away from home? You know we miss you here. " The room was dim, so the young man took his time write the letter, in fear of making mistakes. It had to be perfect, you see. He paused for a second, fixing his dark blond braid. 

"I finished the house, or the additions anyway. You did see the house before you left last time, didn't you? I'm pretty sure you did, brother. I added a few more rooms, a large basement for studying. Just a few little attachments." A window slowly, gently blew open. He took a moment to look out at the starry night sky, admiring how calm it was out. "Mom's grave fell over the other day, don't really know how. It looks like it was broken. I mean, at first I was upset, but I fixed it up in no time. I mage a neat design on it and everything. Made it stronger this time, too! You have to come home sometime and see it, brother."

The room became dark, the candles faded in the wind. The youth stood up, fixing his gloves. He clapped his hands together in front of him, and placed his index finger and thumb on the wick of the two large, red candles. Just as he removed them, they ignited once more, the flames larger now then before. He made his way to the window, closing it tightly before sitting back down. He picked up his pencil, and continued on. "I'm not the only one. She..." He paused, sighing. "...misses you the most. But that's obvious, or it should be. You always seemed so distant, but I know you care about her. You have to. I know I do, but..." he scratched his forehead, looking slightly distant.

"But, on another note, do you get all the letters I send you? You only reply spiraticly. I just hope it's not anything I've said. I hope you're not upset with me or anything, brother. I just can't understand why you stay away for so long. Or Is it about Father? Look, you know he will make his way back home sometime, right? I mean, My 18th brithday is coming up in less than a month now. If he is around, he will be here for that." The youth grinned, excited at the thought of his upcoming party. "We are having a get together at our house, I more than expect to see you there."

"Alphonse!" An elderly lady's voice called. "Alphonse! Wherever did you disappear to?"

"I'm in the study, Pinako!" He called out, blissfully. "Did you finish up?"

"... such a sloppy boy, you are.." She muttered as she pushed open the door. "And yes, I'm done cleaning your messy home up. Did you ever go out of your way to scatter things about!"

"It's not like I'm just asking you to tidy for me!" He chuckled, placing the pencil down. "I'm running to Central for you tomorrow, remember?" He cracked the knuckles on his left hand with a soft popping sound.

"I know, I know. I need new automail parts and need them fast." She looked over the room, shock in her eyes. "Did you keep me out of here on purpose? I'm about to have a stroke! I better not have to clean this war zone as well!" The study was a disaster, looking as if a massive way took place inside. Papers lined the floors, piles upon piles of books, Large poster-like pages covering the walls with jot notes and doodles about them, and an unkempt bed in the corner.

"No, you don't have to worry, this is my private mess, I like it just the way it is." He got up and stretched his arms out. "I know where everything is this way!"

Pinako sighed. "That's a load off my shoulders. I'm heading home now, I expect you at my door at sunrise tomorrow, Alphonse."

"You can count on me!" He smiled. "See you then, Pinako!" He showed her out of the house and made his way back to his writing.

"Well, I'm heading into Central tomorrow, I'm picking up some parts for Pinako and Winry. I wish I could give you the letter myself, but..." His expression changed, the joy fading once more. "I'll see you soon, Edward. I know I will." He folded the letter in three and placed it inside an envelope. He grabbed one of the two candles, and sealed the l with the wax, then made his way to the bed, blowing out both candles before lying down. He fell into a deep sleep fairly quickly, undisturbed for the rest of the night.

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**Authors notes: **Ok, so this is my first attempt at fan fiction, don't be too harsh on me. This will be an on-going story, so the main plot will develop outside this prologue. It is set in a sort of alternate future based off the TV series, so a few things are a bit different. --Spoiler Warning-- There is no other side of the gate, as in no real world, no Nazi's... I'll get into what is in there in the Fic itself. Most of what happened form the end of the TV series up to this point in the fic will be explained in the first few chapters, so I won't go into too much detail as of yet. If I miss an important fact, then I will place it in a note like this one. I hope you enjoyed it and will read on! And yes, it's meant to be short.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Ripples**

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"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be all alone?" Two young boys sat atop a hill, staring at the sun as it began to set, red-orange light poured over the small town of Resembool. "I mean, without Mom or Dad around?" One boy asked the other, with a soft tone. 

"Don't be silly, Al." the older of the two said. "Dad probably won't be back for awhile, and Mom has nowhere to run to." He grinned slightly. "I mean, she wouldn't go anywhere without us, ya' know?" He looked over at his brother, only a year younger than himself, and put his arm on his shoulder. "You don't have anything to worry about."

But it seemed as if his word had little effect. "I know Dad's gone for now, but he'll come back. He has to." He hugged his legs close to his chest. "But what would it be like if he didn't come back, and Mom disappeared and you..."

He was cut off abruptly. "I wouldn't ever leave you behind, Al. We're brothers, we have to look out for each other."

"I know." Al sobbed, his face buried in his knees. "I just can't help it... To think about these things..."

"Come on, Let's go home." The older brother jumped up to his feet and extended his right hand. "Mom's gotta be done supper by now!" Al took his brother's hand and stood up slowly, wiping his face with the sleeve of his light blue t-shirt. "She's waiting for us. And Winry and Pinaco are comin' over for supper to! "

Al smiled. "Yeah, and when we get home, I'll show her the wooden duck I made with alchemy today!"

* * *

"But you did leave me behind..." 

More than a decade has passed since the night those two boys sat on this spot. The town hasn't changed much at all in the past ten years, but it's residents are another story. A young man sits atop that very same hill, looking out over the same lush lands, staring at the sun as it sets. "You did leave. You didn't even show up for my eighteenth birthday last year." He thought to himself. "With all the studying I've done, and the time spent perfecting my skills... You couldn't even show up so I can show you how I've bettered myself..."

He stood up and brushed off his maroon long coat, and put his hands in his pockets. He began to walk down the hill as the winds picked up, blowing the hood of the coat over his head. He quickly fixed it so that the large hood overshadowed his face, the red sun was almost blinding as it set behind the distant mountain.

A voice called out from the other side of the hill. "Al! Al, wait!" It was the voice of a young girl, slightly out of breath. "Al, stop already!"

He paused, putting his hands back in his coat pockets. "What is it, Winry?" He said softly, his back still turned, his coat flapping in the breeze.

"I've been... looking... everywhere for you!" She said, hunched over and winded from running, her hands on her knees. "I've got... something... to tell you..."

He spun around slowly and walked up beside her. He was slightly worried about her. "You okay?" He asked, looking around. He knew what she needed.

"Yeah, but I've been all over the place for about an hour looking for you!" She huffed. She went to lean on a dead tree, but was stopped by a clapping sound and a flash of light. When she looked up, she spotted a bench sticking out from the bottom of the trunk, and Al grinning. The bench looked as if it was masterfully carved, with an ivy design flowing along the back and the arms. The back itself was arched, and shaped almost like a spider's web. The arms had zig-zag style supports going to the seat, which had a soft, silk pillow on it. Two of the legs were longer than the others, evening out the entire thing. It was on a hill, after all, and He knew what to do to make it comfortable and sturdy. The bottom of the legs hand bird-like talons sinking into the ground, keeping it in place. They are more for just decoration, as part of the bench was still connected to the tree.

He reached out his hand and took hers. "Sit. Take a rest for a second." She fell down quickly on the bench, and Al followed slowly behind. He removed the hood, allowing his dark blond braid to fall at shoulder. "So, what is it you want to tell me so bad?" He grinned, placing his hands behind his head.

"Well, I don't want to ruin the surprise, but there is someone waiting at my place for you." She giggled with excitement. "I know this will change that sour mood your always in!" She was kind of jumpy. She smiled at Al, who was a little upset at the statement. "Oh, come on! Don't get like that..." She put her hands on her hips and starred at him sternly.

"You know you make me as happy as I need to be, Winry. Just to have a friend like you around..." He stretched his arms out wide, then quickly placed them at his side. He grinned slightly, and stood up. "No point to keep them waiting!" He said as he took off down the hill.

Winry just sat there, slightly confused. "Hey!" She scowled. "What the hell? Wait for me!" She dashed behind him, Al laughed as he caught up, and the both made their way back to town.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Cold as Stone**

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"Where are you?" A voice echoed off the broken and crumbling walls of an ruined desert town. "Where the hell did you go?" He wailed as he ran through the streets. He ran, filled with rage, without a care for anything in his path. He darted around a corner and spotted a dead end in his path, but rather than slow down or spin around, he sped up. "Show yourself! You are the only one who knows!" he boomed as he leapt into the air. He cocked his arm back, then shot it forward, clearing a path to the street on the other side with a loud _clang_.

"Where are you?" A voice echoed off the broken and crumbling walls of an ruined desert town. "Where the hell did you go?" He wailed as he ran through the streets. He ran, filled with rage, without a care for anything in his path. He darted around a corner and spotted a dead end in his path, but rather than slow down or spin around, he sped up. "Show yourself! You are the only one who knows!" he boomed as he leapt into the air. He cocked his arm back, then shot it forward, clearing a path to the street on the other side with a loud . 

He paused, as a cloud of dust blew around in circles. He wrapped his face in a tattered brown rag, which went well with the dirty poncho he wore. He took the time to scout the area from behind his shaded goggles, which are almost a must in such a relentless place. He scanned around, checking out the rooftops (or what's left of them), in windows, and behind rubble. "...Still nothing. Where the hell could he have hid?" he thought to himself. "He can't be too far..."

Suddenly, off to the young man's left side, there was a crash as rubble tumbled. He caught a blur of dark green out of the corner of his eye. "Gotcha, you bastard!" He fell back quickly into a fighting stance, then dashed toward the noise. He jumped a good ten feet into the air easily clearing the rubble, and whilst in mid-jump, clapped his hands together. He flipped forward, and slammed his palms into the cobblestone road. There was a quick flash of blue light, two rows of jagged rock shot up from the ground. They shot up in a strait path towards the green blur of a person, with blinding speed. As the got up just behind the runner, the split off to either side, and continued in front of them, shooting up even higher than the rest. The pillars of stone curved as they reached heights of about 25 feet, creating a dome wall and stopping the runner in there path.

"Envy!" The young man called out. "Turn and look at me, you bastard!"

"Oh, child, chill!" He said in a very cocky tone. "Won't you ever treat me as family?" He turned around to face the young man, but met a rather rude boot to the side of the head, tossing him off to the side.

"...You're no family of mine..." He said in a quiet tone. "You'll never be..." He slapped his hands together, then down to the ground once more. Envy became enveloped in a cover of shiny black stone, ensuring he would be running no longer. "And now you'll tell me where he is..."

Envy just laughed. "I have no clue what your babbling about!" The young man got closer and closer to where Envy lie. "Not that I would tell you anything anyway." He continued his stuck-up laugh.

"You will talk..." He glared at him through the goggles. "This time you will talk. Where is Hohenhiem?"

Envy fell dead silent. "Him? Why would you be looking for him? Thought you hated him..." A cold metallic fist landed hard into his face.

"Once more, I'll ask..." His voice was monotone, little emotion could be felt in his voice. Ed then mounted the rock covered Envy, fist raised.

"Dead! He's dead! Get it through your friggin' head!" His words were cut short by a barrage of punches, leaving Envy's face in a twisted, bloody mess. As the goggled man raised his fist for a final blow, the earth began to shake. Envy's eyes rolled back into his head as he began to twitch. His skin began to flake and turn a light shade of green. Fangs shot out of his mouth as his body expanded. The stone cover exploded, send shards flying in all directions. "Not even he could stop me now!" Envy's voice was deep and hollow. The man hit hard into the rock wall behind him. He shook off the blow and look up, only rather than Envy, in front of him stood a massive Dragon.

The dragon-shaped Envy spewed a large fireball, breaking the stone wall, and allowing him a hasty escape.

"Shit..." He coughed as he rubbed his head. "It's not you I'm worried about..." He said as he got up, brushed himself off, and continued his journey out of the ruined desert town. Just before he left, he clapped his hand, and touched a stone wall beside him. There was a flash of blue light as the rock formation transformed into a large ball.

* * *

Al and Winry rush down the dirt road, her giggling and him carrying on just as they always have. They came to a stop just before her home. "He's in here!" She said, calming herself down as she walked up towards the wooden steps. The smell of a home-made meal flowed from the open window, scents of cooked vegetables and fresh meat called out to Al. He rubbed his stomach as sit groaned loudly. 

"Pinako made food, did she?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"With a guest this important, she had no other choice." She grinned as she opened the door, the smell now more than overpowering. "Come on!" He walked inside.

"Brother, your finally home!" Al thought to himself. "I can finally prove to you how strong I've become!" He jumped up the stairs and dashed inside. "Brother! Welcome Ho..." He was cut off by who he saw.

"Welcome back to town, younger Brother Elric." Much to Al's surprise, it was not the person he hoped it would be. "it's been quite some time." he said, fixing his eyepatch as he sat down at the table.

"Oh, Mr. Mustang. It's you..." Al's head dropped in disappointment. "I wasn't expecting to see you here... I was hoping..." He turned his back to the group of friends. But that was ended quickly by a flying wrench, it collided solidly with the back of his skull. Roy smirked slightly, almost as if he expected this type of reaction

"Is that any way to treat an old friend!" Winry scolded. "I mean, really. He's come all this way just to see you!" She pouted as she spoke. Roy seemed a bit confused as to why Winry was the one to defend him. It didn't seem to make much sense in his mind. But he brushed it off for now.

"And he does have something to tell you..." Pinako added, bringing a large plate of roast to the table.

Roy cleared his throat. "It's true. I know that what I'm going to tell you will change the way you're thinking. But first, we eat!" They all sat down, and filled themselves on the lovely feast Pinako and Winry created. Everything went rather well, other then the bickering between Al and Winry over the last piece of roast. Roy seemed rather content, as if he missed seeing Al. Years have past since their last meeting, not that it was on very good terms. But this night went rather well.

An hour or so later, they were sitting outside gazing up at the stars, by a bonfire Roy created, chatting and catching up on the last little while. It was mainly just small talk. "This is so much fun." Al said, showing a genuine happiness. "I never knew you this way, Mr. Mustang."

"I told you, it's just Roy now." He smiled, poking the fire with a rather large stick. "neither of us are with the military anymore. There's no need for formalities." He poked and prodded at the raging flames. "Since my departure from my duties, I've gotten time to reflect and think about a lot of things." He looked over at Winry and Pinako. "And I'm going to try to make up for my past mistakes, and make amens to certain people. There's no time to be depressed anymore..."

"...Something can never be forgotten..." Winry said darkly. "...but Forgiveness can be earned..."

Roy smiled slightly. "And I will thrive to achieve that..." He shook his head. "But that is not why I'm here tonight."

Al perked up. "Oh, I almost forgot, what is it? Is it about your investigation?" As a kind of hobby, and as a way to make up things to Al and the rest, Roy had bean looking into the where-abouts of the remaining Homunculi: Wrath, Gluttony and Envy. There and been little sightings of Gluttony and none of Envy over the last 5 years, and Roy had already discovered that Wrath was living on Yock Island, in a way his place of birth. "What news have you brought us this time? It must be important to come here in person. I usually get letters from you."

"I found out something really interesting." he stated as he continued to poke the fire. "There was a sighting in the east of a large creature flying overhead. Many thought it was a mirage, or some trick of the light but..."

"Envy..." Al cut in.

"Yeah, and that's not the best of it. I followed a trail of rumors back to an old busted village where there was what looked like a battle as of late."

"So, then, was it really him?" Winry questioned.

"More than likely. And alchemy was somehow involved as well." Roy added. "Huge spikes of stone, A massive rock wall, and..." He paused for a second.

Al had an intrigued look about him. "Must have been a powerful Alchemist he was up against."

Roy continued. "...And this part you'll find most important. Towards the outskirts of the town, just past where what must have been the main struggle, was a huge stone figure. Well not really a figure," he scratched his head. "It's kinda hard to describe, so I took a photo. " He reached into a poach he kept at his side,and removed the picture, handing it to Al.

The was a mixed expression on Al's face of confusion and excitement. "Oh my god..." He exclaimed, and he began to laugh.

Winry jumped up and nosed her way over to the see what he was looking at. "What? What's so funny?" She took the picture and looked it over. In it was a stone state of a round-shaped face with angry eyes, and a small round hand. It looked as if the statue was flipping off the camera. And then she spotted the stone antenna atop it's head.

Al grinned. "Brother? What are you up to?"

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**Authors Notes**: I know where I want to go with the story, but I'm still working out how to get there. If you spot anything (spelling, grammar, etc) that my spell check missed, please point it out. It would be more than helpful. Reviews are neat! I'm going to try to make each chapter about this long, I just didn't know what to write for the first. Hope you enjoy and keep reading. 


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Fallen Flames and Lost Sparks**

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"I can't believe I lost him..."

Ed walks alone through the dessert in the cold of night, wrapped in a thick wind poncho. It had, at one time, a nice desert cameo design, but with much wear and tear it's been beaten down to a tattered brown color. He had the neck of it pulled up and wrapped over his face still, along with his thin red goggles, protecting him from the wind and blowing sand. He marched slowly into the wind, towards the edge of the sandy terrain which could be seen off in the distant horizon.

"I can't believe he got away from me. The bastard..." His words stopped short as he stumbled forward. He was struck from behind, without him even noticing he was being followed. He spun around quickly, enraged. It was a masked figure with the build of a taller man. His mask had the symbol of the Ouroboros along it's right side, with only his left eye exposed. He had a red shirt, with overly long sleeves, white gloves and loose, black dress pants. He was also covered in a large black cloak, with full hood. He flicked his right arm strait out to the side, parting the cloak."It'll all be over soon, child. But we can't have you find him yet." His voice was calm, and full bodied. He let out a cackle that would break glass.

"The hell do you want!" He spotted the mark on the mask. "You're with them, are you?"

The masked man just smirked, the smile barely showing through the black cloth. "You don't even know the half of it, child." His voice was somehow familiar, Ed knew the had heard it before, but never in this tone. He just brushed it off, and crossed his arms, fed up.

"Look, I'm not going to take any crap from a peon like you." He jumped forward and threw a swift sidekick with his automail leg. But there was no contact. The Man had vanished. Ed hit the sand, knelt down.

"Too slow!" The voice bellowed from behind him, as a large, steel-toed leather boot connected firmly with Ed temple. "You need to be better than that to stop him." Edward's head snapped to the side, right into a lightning fast left hook. Ed began to fall toward the ground, but was quickly flung upward, and uppercut landing firmly to Ed's jaw. "You're not even trying, cocky bastard." He smashed into the sandy ground with a sickening thud. Just like that, the fight was over.

The masked man growled with excitement as he bent over and threw the motionless Ed over his shoulder. "But I want to make this interesting... I need just one more thing to make this whole thing fun." He readied himself, and sprung up into the air. His jumps, at their highest points, reached well over 30 feet, and at speeds almost too fast to see by a normal human eye. He was out of the sandy wasteland in mere minutes.

* * *

"I can't believe he's still not here..." 

Al was lying in his bed, wide awake, too filled with thought to sleep. "I just don't understand why he's not home yet..." He thought, glancing at the night sky. It must have been about 3:00am, but still he was unable to rest. He rolled over on to his left side to try to get more comfortable. "He hasn't even written to me. It's been months since I've heard anything." He tried to close his eyes, hoping that it would help him. "I hope my last letter didn't hurt your feelings, brother."

There was a knock at the front door. Al, shocked that he wasn't the only one up at his hour, threw on a pair of pants and dragged himself out of his room. "Now, who could that be?" He said to himself, under his breath. There was yet another knock, softer this time, as to not disturb any sleeping inside. "I was awake, anyway." He called out. "Just come in."

"Um, Al..." it was Winry's voice, sounding a little nervous. "It's locked..."

He looked around a bit, found his gloves and put them on with a sigh. "I've gotten lazy..." he said, clapping. He placed his hands on the wall beside him, sending a bolt of purple lightning across the wall nd toward the door. Upon contact, the door began to glow lightly, and slowly dissolved from the bottom up into purple rose petals.

"That's... one way to do it." She said, blushing slightly. "Show off." She grinned as she passed by him and made her way to the kitchen. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

Al raised an eyebrow. "I there a problem?" He said, following behind her. The both took a seat at the table. He lit a candle, shedding some light on the room.

"A few." she said softly, cracking her fingers.

"It's Roy, isn't it.." Al leaned back in the chair, lifting the front legs off the floor.

"Kind of... but not really. I mean, it is a bit uncomfortable with him around the last few days, but..." her voice became more timid. "It's ... It's Ed..."

Al let the chair fall forward, a very serious look fell about his face. "...Ed?"

"You remember a few years back , when he was home? You remember how happy we were?" She had trouble talking to Al.

"Yes, you two finally got together..." His spoke very low, very coldly. "Went on a few dates." There was a certain disdain in his words, as if it hurt him to speak them. "You ... cared for each other deeply."

"Yeah, I thought we did..." She muttered, looking down at the table. "I was sure we did. He even told me he loved me. He told me just as he was leaving. He promised me that he'd be back."

"He promised me, too..." His word were sharper. "He promised me..." he clenched his fist tightly. He saw a drop land on the table, as Winry sobbed.

"He said he'd come back, but he never did... he never did Al!" She broke down. This is the first time AL had ever seen her cry, she was a strong girl. Independent. It seemed as if nothing really got to her. "He lied to me Al! Ed..." She began to cry heavily. Al stood up slowly, and made his way behind her. He placed his arms around her shoulders, and hugged her tightly.

"He'll still be back.. .he said he would, and we just have to wait." He didn't want to hell her his, but he know it would make her feel a little better.

"There's no point in waiting any longer. It's been over a year, and still no word from him." She whipped her eyes. "But you... you've been here the whole time. Al, you where here and I didn't even see you. You've always been there.." She turned her head, and looked into his brown eyes. "But I was so blinded by thoughts of your brother..." She stood up, and faced him. They looked into each other's eyes, and time seemed to stop. He held her closer, their chest meeting, her eyes sparkling. "I never even tried, never thought that it could be you that..."

Al looked at her, his heart opening up. "For the longest time, even if you were with him..." he said, very choppy. "I've wanted to be near you, but I couldn't. You were his, and you should be his..."

"But there's no point in waiting for him anymore..." She leaned upward, kissing him gently.

There was a knock on the door frame toward the front of the house.

It was ignored, as the kiss became more passionate. They could not see who it was, a wall was blocking the line of sight. But it wasn't long before they heard footsteps. One heavier than the other.

"Alphonse, I'm... back..."

"Ed?" Winry jumped back.

A look of pure confusion fell over Al's face. "Bro... Brother?"

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**Authors Notes**: Heh, I went a little bit without posting. I was on a mini vacation from work, and most of my writing is done at work, so... nothing got done. But I'm back and so is the story. I think I found out where I'm going with it, so it should get interesting. I like Al, he's going to be my favorite character in this story. I'm going to have fun writing this . 


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